A project some three years in the planning stage to build a new subdivision on the northeast side of Colorado Springs is moving ahead with the approval of the Colorado Springs Planning Commission.
The Kettle Creek North project, as proposed by developer Vintage Communities, will see the construction of exactly 247 homes just to the north of the intersections of Powers Boulevard and Old Ranch Road.
The project, partly bordered by the Kettle Creek on the north side of the site and spread out over around 60 acres, has been reviewed several times by both the planning commission as well as the Colorado Springs City Council.
The largest point of contention to the project has centered on concerns regarding a lack of evacuation routes at the site in the event of a wildfire. The wildfire issue has prompted Vintage Communities, which is based in Colorado Springs, to agree to the building of an additional route as part of the overall plan.
Concerns were additionally assuaged with the announcement that the Colorado Springs Fire Department is planning to build a new $8.5 million station near the planned subdivision. A condition of the planning commission staff report states that no certificates of occupancy will be issued for the new subdivision until the fire station is “constructed and staffed along the Highway 83 corridor.”
According to city documents, the project will see the construction of four dwellings units per acre, with a minimum lot size of 5,500 square feet.
By Garry Boulard
